Trelawny: Jamaica’s Most “Athletic” Parish?
The parish of Trelawny is in northwest Jamaica.
It is birthplace of the world’s fastest man – Usain Bolt and many other sensational track and field athletes including: Veronica Campbell-Brown, Marvin Anderson, Ricardo Chambers, Omar Brown, Michael Frater, Lerone Clarke, Dane Hyatt, Rosemarie Whyte, Michael Greene, Inez Turner, Debbie-Ann Parris, Sanya Richards Ross, Ben Johnson and Warren Weir.
It is also the birthplace of Samardo Arthur Samuels, who formerly played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, University of Connecticut basketball player Kentan Facey, star safety for the Green Bay Packers, and Maurice Haughton, Atari Bigby.
The largest group of Maroons came from Trelawny. A 1739 treaty between the Maroons and the English gave the Maroons freedom and land. A second Maroon uprising in 1795 led to over 600 Maroons being exiled to Nova Scotia, Canada, and to Sierra Leone in 1800. The opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup was held in Trelawny.
The southern section is part of the Cockpit Country, a natural reserve for flora and fauna with most of Jamaica’s 27 endemic bird species. yellow snakes, and the giant swallowtail butterfly, the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere. There are about 48 caves, most with phosphate gatherings with Taino carvings on the walls.
Trelawny’s sources of employment are agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Apart from rum and sugar being exports, there are the famous yams, bananas, strawberries, vegetables, pimento, coffee, ginger, and coconut.
Though the fishing industry is declining, Trelawny still produces a large amount of fish. There are ten beaches along the coast, with usually more than 30 boats each, as well as 27 fish ponds.
There are numerous factories in the parish. The tourism sector in the parish continues to grow…
By Neo Makeba
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